This is one of a growing list of scare stories being
perpetuated by the marine eco-alarmist industry and unsuspecting
and gullible media people to fan the flames of the anti-fishing
movement. While it's been around for years, it was most recently
brought to the fore in Oceans of Abundance (link), a severely biased
report resulting from the deliberations of a working group convened
by Environmental Defense (at least $34 million from the "Big
Four" foundations - link),
Marine Conservation Biology Institute (at least $2 million ditto)
and World Wildlife Fund (at least $9 million ditto). "Generous
support (for the working group) was provided
by the Walton Family Foundation."

In the Washington Post on May 6, 2002 (link), UBC researcher
(recipient of at least $17 million from the "Big Four"
foundations) Daniel Pauly (link) was
quoted "If overfishing continues in the North Atlantic
and elsewhere, fishing boats could soon be chasing jellyfish instead of
fish."

The article then went on:

But overfishing isn't the only explanation for
rapidly expanding jellyfish populations, said scientist Monty Graham of
the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama. "Ecosystems in which there are
high levels of nutrients as a result of agricultural run-off, for
example, provide nourishment for the small organisms on which jellyfish
feed. In waters where there is eutrophication [over-fertilization], low
oxygen levels often result, favoring jellyfish as they thrive in less
oxygen-rich water than fish can tolerate. The fact that jellyfish are
increasing is a symptom of something happening in the ecosystem."

Graham
cited the northern Gulf of Mexico, in which all species of jellyfish
are rapidly increasing. Moon jellyfish, for example, are being found in
dense concentrations in offshore areas that overlap with prime fishing
grounds, such as those for red snapper. "Moon jellies have formed a kind
of gelatinous net that stretches from end to end across the gulf," said
Graham. "How much impact they will have on red snapper and other
fisheries is a big concern."

In the Adriatic Sea, a "bloom" of a
jellyfish called Pelagia nearly shut down the ecosystem. "Huge
quantities of jellyfish clogged all nets in almost no time," said
scientist Ferdinando Boero of the University of Lecce in Italy. The
Pelagia population has returned to normal, but the main cause - nutrient
pollution - "could result in another such bloom at any time.
Industrial, agricultural, and urban activities lead to enormous nutrient
overloads discharged into the Adriatic Sea by the Po River," said
Boero.

As far as could be determined,
neither Monty Graham nor the Dauphin Island Sea Lab has taken any
grant money from the "Big Four" foundations.